This invention relates to a mounting unit for attaching supply lines or cables to motor vehicles by means of socket bolts, and in particular to threaded bolts, fastened to the underside of the vehicle's chassis. In addition, the invention relates to cable holders for use in the mounting unit having a part for securing the cable holders to the socket bolts and a part for holding the cables, wherein the cables of the mounting unit, which are cut to the proper length and are aligned for placement under the chassis, are connected to the cable holders at accurately defined locations.
An example of such a mounting unit is shown in West German Patent Application P No. 37 05 626. A prerequisite for trouble-free mounting of such a unit is that the cable holders be precisely aligned with respect to the corresponding distances between the threaded bolts. One way is to align the cable holders of the unit on a mounting plate by pushing them into depressions in the mounting plate that correspond to the positions of the threaded bolts on the vehicle.
If it is desirable at the automobile manufacturing plant to avoid this procedure of having to first mount the cable holders on a mounting plate, the holders then must be locked in position on the supply lines or cables at the supplier's plant in accurately defined positions corresponding to the locations of the threaded bolts so that they cannot be shifted in the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, care must be taken during transport and until the units are placed on the vehicle that the cable holders retain their positions relative to the cables. With the present state of the art, various options are available for doing this, consisting either in the use of additional positioning devices--such as spring clips or rubber parts--or by having bulges on the supply lines or cables that are integrally molded thereon to prevent any shifting of the holders in the axial direction.
An object of the present invention therefore is to provide a mounting unit for supply lines or cables in which the cable holders are accurately aligned with respect to the cables in an efficient and simple manner and which units can be transported and subsequently mounted to a vehicle's chassis in a better as received condition.